How I Will Contribute to Rutgers UniversityAnonymous

Rutgers University is a vibrant community of people with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. How would you benefit from and contribute to such an environment? Consider variables such as your talents, travels, leadership activities, volunteer services, and cultural experiences. Only personal essays submitted via our website will be considered.

Though I am a white male who has grown up in the predominantly uniform communities of Englishtown and Monroe, my life experiences have been far from homogeneous or commonplace. My deep commitments to different clubs and organizations have deeply influenced the way I perceive the world; they have provided me with opportunities to cooperate with and influence a variety of people and effect positive change in the world.

When I was thirteen, I began working at the Cambridge Inn restaurant in Spotswood. As a waiter and busboy, I have served and interacted with literally thousands of customers. Their demands on the wait staff and kitchen can be extremely taxing at times, and I have developed strong interpersonal and customer service skills as a result.

I have also formed close ties with the Cambridge staff. The kitchen is manned almost entirely by Mexican immigrants who have taught me more about their culture than any Spanish class in high school did. Even though I am blond-haired and blue-eyed, the kitchen workers have not hesitated to share their cultural holidays with me, such as Cinco de Mayo and Mexico's Independence Day (which, by the way, are separate occasions; equating Cinco de Mayo to Mexico's independence is a common...